Democrat Lisa Grafstein, candidate for Senate District 13 in NC, answers our questions

To help inform voters about the Nov. 5, 2024, election, this candidate questionnaire is available to be republished by local publications in North Carolina without any cost. Please consider subscribing to The News & Observer to help make this coverage possible.

Name: Lisa Grafstein

District/seat: Senate District 13

County or counties represented: Wake

Political party: Democrat

Age as of Nov. 5, 2024: 58

Campaign website: lisagrafstein.com

Current occupation: Civil rights attorney / State Senator

Professional experience: Disability Rights NC, 2011-present, Litigation Counsel (formerly Legal Director); Law Office of Lisa Grafstein, P.L.L.C., 1995-2011 (formerly known as Grafstein & Walczyk, P.L.L.C., 1995-2007); Legal Elite, Business NC Magazine, 2007-present; Hall of Fame, 2011; NC Super Lawyers magazine’s Top 50 Women Lawyers, 2011 and Employment / Civil Rights Law, 2009-present; Gwyneth B. Davis (Public Service) Award, NC Association of Women Attorneys, 2012; Champion of Justice Award, Barbara S. McDowell Foundation, 2023.

Education: BA, English Literature, Northwestern University, 1988; JD, UNC-Chapel Hill, 1995.

Please list any notable government or civic involvement: Senator, NC General Assembly, 2023-present. Serving Senate District 13 (Wake County); Commissioner, NC State Personnel Commission, 2010-2013; President, Women’s Forum of NC, 2013 and Board Member 2011-2015; Board Co-Chair, North Carolina Justice Center 2015-2016 and Board Member 2012-2019; Board Member, NC Legal Education Assistance Foundation, 2003-2010; President, North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys, 2000–2001.

What would be your top priority if elected?

We must reverse bad policies of the current majority on issues like reproductive freedom, public education, and cost of living. The abortion ban has harmed many women. We must protect IVF and birth control, which extremists put at risk. We must fund public schools rather than give public money to unaccountable private schools. We need to end price gouging on rental homes and consumer goods. We can no longer afford policies that are driven by favoritism toward big corporations and wealthy people.

By percentage, what raises should state employees, school staff and teachers receive in the next state budget?

For teachers and school staff, I believe 8.5% is appropriate and was part of a balanced budget proposal. While 8.5% may seem like a lot, a higher-than-typical raise is necessary because we have lost many teachers because we don’t pay competitive wages. For state employees, we should implement similar raises for the same reason: we have not paid fair wages over the last decade, resulting in dramatic vacancy rates in critical services, like DMV, and highly sensitive positions, like prison staff.

What legislation would you support to improve Triangle transportation, housing or infrastructure? Please be specific.

I have filed bills on all these issues, which are very important in southern Wake County, including: Homes for Heroes (Senate Bill 422) to enable public servants to afford local housing, a bill on wastewater infrastructure (Senate Bill 858) to address serious unmet needs, and Train Infrastructure Acceleration Act (Senate Bill 821) to address growing transportation needs. I would support legislation to ensure roads in Wake County are built out to accommodate the rapid increase in housing, particularly in unincorporated areas.

Do you think the legislature should fund about $500 million for private school vouchers through the Opportunity Scholarship program? Why or why not?

I voted no on the expansion of private school vouchers because they take taxpayer funds from public schools and use those public funds to support unaccountable private schools. I have no objection to private schools (or public magnet or charter schools), but providing these funds to the wealthiest families harms our public school system. Decreased state funding has driven up Wake County property taxes, making the voucher scheme even more unfair to taxpayers.

Is there an issue on which you disagree with your party? What is your position on that issue?

While I don’t have a blanket objection to legalized gambling, I voted contrary to most Democrats on the sports betting bill that passed in 2023. It was my assessment that the system set up a monopoly of out of state vendors and did not allow for enough safeguards to protect consumers. An additional concern is that the tax revenues being generated do not account for the significant amount of money flowing out of state instead of to local businesses where it could boost our local economies.

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